1. Field of the Invention
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/303,955, filed on Mar. 4, 2016, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference thereto.
The present invention relates generally to welding. More particularly it relates to a welding device configured for orbital welding of pipe to pipe joint and fitting welds which employs an integrated track with gear drive which is adapted for circumferential engagement with the exterior of pipes being welded. So engaged, the integrated configuration will operate under axial and radial constraints which are heretofore unavailable in such welding devices.
2. Prior Art
In industries employing pipe and tubes for carrying liquids and gases, a conventional method for joining two abutting tubular segments, such as pipes or tubes or fittings engaged therewith, is to butt the respective ends of the segments to be joined, and orbitally weld the adjacent ends. In such orbital welding, conventionally either the two abutted segments are rotated past a welding head, or the welding head itself rotates around the circumference of the tubes or pipes and employs appropriate welding technique and materials to join the two segments. The more common mode of the two options is moving the welding head in a circumferential path around the stationary abutted segments.
During such an orbital welding procedure, a wire feed is provided of a metal material appropriate to weld the metal forming the two segments being joined. It is desirable that the welder be adapted to concurrently communicate an inert gas to the weld site with the wire, to protect the formed pool of molten metal of the weld from oxygen and moisture and other contaminants. Such is required so that the resulting weld is cleanly formed.
Additionally, the communication of inert gas to the welding site protects against welding imperfections and impurities being included in the metal of the finished weld. Consequently, the ability of an orbital welder to concurrently communicate an inert gas along with the appropriate wire welding material, at the appropriate speed to weld the abutted segments smoothly and uninterrupted during the operation, is a universal requirement.
A significant shortcoming of conventionally available orbital welders for pipe and tubing and the like, is the inability to for conventional devices to operate under conditions where the orbital welding device must operate with tight clearances such as where the adjoining pipes are curved. Such clearances occur due to surrounding pipes and tubes and components proximal to the two abutted segments being welded and can subject an orbital welder to operational requirements having very small axial and/or radial constrains for example less than six inches. Of course this distance is dependant on the diameter of the pipes being joined and the overall diameter of the orbital welding device performing the weld.
As such, there is an unmet need for an orbital welding device, which is configured orbital welding of abutted pipes, tubes, and fittings and the like, which once engaged is capable of producing defect-free welds to join adjacent tube and pipe segments. Such a device should be modular to allow for easy installation and customization. Further, such a device should be able to effectively operate with axial and radial constraints below 6 inches and as small as 2.5 inches to allow for use in areas with very tight constraints. Still further, such a device no matter the diameter of the orbital welding assembly, should be configured to minimize the diameter of the assembly and engaged components, in order to weld pipes running adjacent or parallel in very tight spacing constraints.
The forgoing examples of related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive, and they do not imply any limitations on the disclosed low clearance orbital welding invention and method described and claimed herein. Various limitations of the related art are already or will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the specification below and the accompanying drawings.